(Reuters) – U.S. Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis finalized her team on Tuesday by naming Lexi Thompson, Jennifer Kupcho and Sarah Schmelzel as wild cards.
Thompson, ranked 46th in the world, will be playing in the Solheim Cup for the seventh consecutive year, while Kupcho (53) will be wearing the red, white and blue for the third time and Schmelzel (61) will be making his first appearance.
The trio, along with automatic qualifiers Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, Lauren Coughlin, Allie Ewing, Alisen Copes, Megan Kang, Andrea Li, Rose Chan and Allison Lee, will compete in the Solheim Cup, which runs from Sept. 13-15 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia.
Thompson has said she will retire from full-time competitive golf after the 2024 season, which could be her final Solheim Cup, but her career record in the tournament is 9 wins, 7 losses and 7 draws, while Kupcho has 2 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws.
“Lexi has the experience and was probably the easiest pick out of the three,” Lewis said. “I know what Lexi can do at the Solheim Cup, so that definitely helped me pick her.”
“She's someone who's a great help to our team both on the golf course and off the course. With her experience, everyone on the team watches what she does and tries to learn from her. We're very happy to have Lexi back.”
The Solheim Cup is a biennial tournament between 12-player teams formatted like the men's Ryder Cup, and the United States leads Europe with 10 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw.
Europe has held the trophy since 2019, having defended it last year with a draw in Spain. The Solheim Cup is being played for the second consecutive year to align with the even-year schedule.
(Reporting by Frank Ping in Toronto; Editing by Ed Osmond)
